The most famous dogs

Everyone knows that a dog is a person’s friend. This animal is next to us from time immemorial. A dog is an excellent and devoted friend, a good helper. Throughout history, people have used these creatures in different ways.

Dogs flew in rockets, transported loads, acted in films and saved lives. Dogs-heroes did not require monuments, they only had the praise of their masters.

Dogs are very interesting and intelligent creatures with their own character. We will tell below about the most famous dogs in history.

Snappi.

This dog became the world’s first cloned dog. Dog breeders tend to prove that their pet is unique. But Snappi can not be said exactly. This unique beast was born on April 24, 2005. The birth was preceded by long, long-term experiments of scientists from the University of Seoul. The very name of the dog is also artificial, it was added from the university abbreviation (SNU) and the word “puppy”, which means “puppy”. To get this clone, I had to implant over a thousand embryos to 123 females. But only three pregnancies were formed, and the successful one was completely alone.

Snappie belongs to the breed Afghan hound. The cells for his appearance were taken from the ear of the dog of the Tai of the same breed. But a unique female dog of the Labrador Retriever breed was borne out. Some people are surprised at how much effort the scientists have made to clone the dog. The matter is that cloning is a very promising direction. In the future, it will be able to help drugs for the treatment of diseases, as well as obtaining human stem cells. Shortly after Snappi’s birth, project manager Hwang U Suk was accused of falsifying research on human cloning. However, despite this, the cloning of the dog, according to repeated studies, was indeed carried out.

Laika.

This dog became the first inhabitant of the Earth to appear in space. However, for the glory had to pay with life. Speaking of cosmonauts, it is customary to remember Belka and Strelka, but Laika visited the sky long before them. It was an ordinary Moscow pooch, which was selected for a historical mission from other similar homeless dogs. Of the other animals, dogs were chosen, because they are reasonably disciplined enough to stay in a confined space for a long time. Honor of the first flight was entrusted to a 6-kilogram female nicknamed Siberian Curly Siberian husk. However, when it turned out that this name is too difficult to pronounce in other languages. Then the four-legged cosmonaut was renamed Laika.

The flight of the dog was to show the world the successes of the USSR in the space program. At that time, an artificial satellite was already launched, and Khrushchev ordered to launch an animal in space in honor of the anniversary of the Revolution on November 7, 1957. At that time, the new model of the spacecraft was simply not ready, but it was impossible to refuse the authorities. For a month in a hurry they prepared a ship for flight, there they placed the basic life support systems. But for heating and a parachute for landing there is simply no room left. It was clear that Laika had a one-way ticket. The satellite with the dog on board started on November 3, the sensation flew around the world. Everyone spoke about the successes of Soviet science. But then it turned out that the flight was not so successful. For several decades, it was believed that Lika lived in orbit for several days. But today scientists believe that the poor dog died a few hours after the start. The cause was stress. The capsule remained in orbit for six months, after which it burnt in the atmosphere. For the next ten years 13 more dogs have visited the cosmos. But only Lika became the one who did not have the opportunity to return. That flight glorified the dog, its image is imprinted on a huge monument “Conquerors of the Cosmos”.

Brown dog.

For a long time no one thought to fight for the rights of dogs. The impetus for this movement was given by a real mongrel, who did not really have a name.The fact that dogs work for the good of man, participating in medical experiments, has been known for a long time. For a long time people did not even pay attention to this. But the story of the Brown Dog caused a public outcry. In February 1903, a small, nameless mongrel was subjected to vivisection at the physiology department of the London College. It was the most common procedure at the time. But there were two advocates of animal rights from Sweden attending those classes. They specially came to London to see and describe this terrible procedure with their own eyes. The results were reported to the British Society for Combating Vivisection. It has put forward at once two charges to doctors. It turned out that the Brown Dog did not receive the proper anesthesia and was involved in other experiments. And this was prohibited by the laws of England.

The doctor sued for libel, won that process, but lost in the eyes of the public. The newspapers immediately took the side of the defenders of animals. Their legal costs were paid off by collecting money. A brown dog was erected a monument in the form of a fountain and a figure of a dog at the top. However, the students disagreed with this position. The monument was vandalized, around it even the supporters and opponents of vivisection fought. The police were forced to intervene, and the monument was demolished in 1910 at all, so as not to stir up the conflict. But in 1985 in the suburbs of London, Battersea, a monument to the Brown dog reappeared with accusatory inscriptions. That story has done its work – today no one supports brutal experiments on animals.

Buti.

In his travels to the North or South Pole, a person often takes dogs with him. Buti became the only dog ​​who visited both poles of the Earth at once. Usually dogs act in these travels as draft force, but this Jack Russell Terrier in a sleigh harnessed has never been. A small dog belonged to the famous English traveler Sir Ranulf Fiennes or his wife Virginia. Buti became a member of their family in 1977, and two years later the couple went on a journey through the poles. The start of the expedition was given in Greenwich, then on the zero meridian the journey was to go to the south to the Antarctic, and then from it to the north to the Arctic. The African stage was missed by the dog, as there was a lot of heat. But when the expedition went to sea, Buti was taken aboard. During storms, a brave dog was tied to deck superstructures. The ground trip along Antarctica Buti also missed, having arrived to the Pole already on the plane. To protect themselves from the cold, a special hat, boots and overalls were put on the dog. At the end of the expedition, Buti visited the North Pole. The journey lasted from 1979 to 1982.

The dog became a celebrity, in England it was called the dog of the year. Already in 1983 Buti made a circle of honor at the opening of the most prestigious dog show in the world “Kraft”. But the most important thing is that the traveler found a friend in the course of his wanderings. Her name was Black Dog. This crossbreed Labrador, Husky and Newfoundland was much superior to his chosen one. I met a couple in the Yukon and since then almost never parted.

Rico.

Many dog ​​breeders believe that their pets perfectly understand what they are told. Scientists are trying to prove this. So, the experiments with the participation of the intelligent Border Collie Rico showed that the dogs are really smart. This breed is generally smart, but this representative is simply a genius among other dogs. Rico understands about two hundred words, can find the toys he named from a large collection and even shows examples of deductive thinking. Studies of intelligent dogs began in 2004 at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig. The results were published in the scientific journal Science.

Scientists have shown interest in an unusual dog after the owners stated that the animal knows the names of several dozen of its toys. Unique features have been tested. The owner and the dog were placed in one room, and the toys in the other.The man gave Rico a team to bring this or that thing that the dog did. Then a unknown thing was placed in the room, and the owner gave the command to bring it. The dog guessed that the new word refers to an obscure subject. Psychologists say that Rico’s abilities are similar to those of young children who study language. This idea became a sensation. After all, or Rico – the smartest dog on the planet, or all dogs in one way or another have this opportunity.

Scientists even suggested that if the dog had a speech apparatus, like a human, they would even try to name the names of the objects. Maybe the dogs are trying to talk to us, but we just can not understand them. Of course, Rico understands people no better than a three-year-old kid, and talents are limited to finding famous toys. But studies to the delight of the dog handlers continue. Researchers want to know if the dog has abstract thinking?

Saur.

Whatever honors the dogs were given, this one got them the most. After all, Saur entered the historical chronicles, like the King of Norway. Mention of this story is contained in the legends of the 12th century Vikings. At that time, the king of Norway, Eystein Magnusson, captured Trondheim, appointing his son Enund as governor. But then an uprising broke out, and he was killed. The king was very angry with this and very violently quelled the riot. To the entrenched inhabitants an angry king offered a choice. Their ruler could be either a slave Torer Fax or a dog named Saur. The very nickname of the dog meant “uncleanness”, “excrement.”

People decided to choose their king’s dog. After all, she obviously will live less than a man, and soon the Norwegians will be spared from a strange king. History says that this humiliation lasted 3 years. But according to the legends Saur sat on the throne, he had his own palace and a golden collar. During solemn events, courtiers wore Saurs on special stretchers. However, the royal position did not prevent the dog from doing his favorite duties. As a result, Saur was killed defending the herd from the wolves.

Ouni.

This dog is now the mascot of the US Postal Service. It seems that dogs usually do not like postmen. But at least one dog was very fond of this service. This is not surprising, considering that Ouni owed his life, food and glory to postal employees. The abandoned puppy was found in 1888 in the town of Albany, New York. Workers of the post office were allowed to spend the night on empty bags. Ouni always remembered this kind act and that smell. Since then he has always followed the one who carried such a sack.

The dog accompanied the peddlers of letters, hopped into the carriages and traveled under the supervision of mail employees. When the dog arrived at the new station, local workers clung to his collars the tokens of his offices. As a result, there were so many that this load became too heavy for the dog. According to the decree of the chief postmaster of America, OUNY was made a special harness, where they placed hundreds of memorable signs. The most interesting journey for the dog was in 1895. The postmaster of the city of Tacoma, Washington, sent the dog on a round-the-world trip. Owney returned in 113 days. During this time the dog, along with the clerk on steamboats and trains, crossed the oceans and continents. It turned out that all his life the dog has overcome about 225 thousand kilometers. All this time she accompanied the mail. Downey died in 1897, and the stuffed dog was stored first in the post office in Washington, and from 1911 it moved to the Smithsonian Institution. Now the figure of the dog is in the National Post Museum. On Oony is dressed his honorable harness with all the counters.

Blair.

Dogs are not surprising at the cinema today, but this dog became the first movie star. Today, when talking about a collie in a movie, Lassie will most often remember. But the name of Blair came to the cinema much earlier. It happened in 1905. Then the calm and kind dog became the real sensation, having played in the English film “Saved by Rover”.The low-budget silent film lasted 6 minutes, it tells how a dog saves a child kidnapped by gypsies. The tape has become almost a family enterprise. The script for her was written by the wife of producer Hepvort. He himself was the director and stage director. And the role of the kidnapped child was played by their daughter Elizabeth. And the most important character, Rover, played Blair’s dog, which belonged to the family.

The movie was shot in a few days, and it cost not more than 8 pounds. The film became insanely popular. Hepworth was forced to even duplicate the picture twice, since the original film was literally wiped to holes when printing copies. About 400 copies of this tape were distributed around the world. The success of this film forced Hepvort to create a sequel. The painting “Silly prudence” appeared in 1907. Collie played with a horse, which also had experience shooting. In 1908 there was a film with the simple name “The dog outwitted the kidnappers”, where the collie again rescued the child, taking him away by car. One of the first special effects was applied here. In fact, Blair only kept his paws on the steering wheel, but in reality he was driving a crouching Hepworth. The classic painting “Saved by Rover” is valuable today for two reasons. It used new methods of installation, which then became traditional. In addition, the nickname Rover has become very popular. Since that time, many dogs have begun to call their pets.

Rin Tin Tin.

There are many stories when a dog saved a person’s life. But in history there was a case when the dog could save the whole corporation. These animals became the famous German shepherd Rin Tin Tin. Films with her participation were able to revive the dying film company “Warner Bros.”. It is a miracle that the dog could survive at all. After all, she was born in France, when there was still the First World War. The dog was bombed and abandoned. Fortunately, American corporal Lee Duncan found a shepherd and her four puppies. The soldier was very fond of dogs and put them in good hands. He himself left a small male and female, calling them Rin Tin Tin and Nanette. The girl soon died, and her brother, along with his master, returned to America, to Los Angeles.

A former soldier got a job at the store, and spent his free time training his pet. He believed that the glory in the show business awaits that. Duncan even created a script with the participation of his dog, cutting his name down to a more sonorous Rinny. Then the owner began to offer this idea to film studios. But everywhere Duncan waited a refusal. Once a man with Rinny was accidentally on set. There the trainers could not cope with the stubborn wolf in any way. Then Duncan proposed to replace the team with their wards, promising that he will do what he needs. Rinnie used his chance, so in Hollywood appeared a new star. The dog played the main role in the tape “Man with the Hills River”. This film was very successful for the Warner Brothers film company. Then it was a small organization with a dozen workers and a couple of cameras. Founded by her brothers Warner, emigrants from Poland. Over the next 10 years, Rin Tin Tin starred in 26 films.

He became not just a movie star, but also the factor by which the film company was firmly on its feet. Its leaders did not hide that if it had not been for this dog, they would have long since gone bankrupt. At the peak of his fame, Rin Tin Tin was more popular than many movie stars. The dog received more than 10 thousand letters from his fans. The dog worked until the last moment, until he died on August 10, 1932, on the eve of the next filming. Descendants of the famous dog also tried to match their father. Rin Tin Tin Second starred in several films, Third son went to serve in the army.

Bobby Streifraers.

There are many stories about canine devotion, but this dog is the real legend of this touching phenomenon. In Edinburgh there is an ancient Scottish cemetery, which is a local landmark. It has been here for several centuries.Among all the celebrities buried here, it is worth highlighting a simple dog Bobby. After all, his attachment to his master became a true symbol of devotion.

This story began in 1856. Gardener John Gray, along with his family moved to Edinburgh, where he took a night job as a watchman. To make it not so boring to bypass the territory, the man got himself a skye terrier, calling him Bobby. Soon John and his dog became inseparable. But long walks in the wet weather undermined the health of the owner, in 1858 he passed away and was buried in the grapefraus cemetery. With this loss, Bobby was unable to reconcile himself. Almost all the time he began to spend near the grave of the owner. Employees of the cemetery unsuccessfully tried to drive the dog out of there. As a result, such devotion won the hearts of people. Neighboring residents made for him a canopy next to Grave’s grave. The owner of the nearest diner began to feed inconsolable dog. Bobby became famous. Soon, even the tourists began to come to the cemetery to see the faithful dog and how it is exactly at one o’clock in the afternoon is going to lunch. Bobby did not leave his post until he died in January 1872. The dog was 16 years old then.

In Scotland it is forbidden to bury animals in a consecrated cemetery. Therefore, specially for Bobby was dug a grave near the entrance. It was written: “Bobby with Greyfraers, died January 14, 1872 at the age of 16. Let his selfless devotion serve as a lesson for all of us.” The dog really went down in history, people did not forget her devotion. Next to the dog’s grave, the next year they built a bronze statue. The model for her was Bobbi. A snack bar, where he was fed, was renamed in honor of the dog and still works.